Tag Archives: rachel platten

Momentous Mondays: Influential artists of the next 5-10 years – Where Are They Now: Week 1-10

So it’s been around 3 and a bit years since I started a blog series that would, for lack of a better term, revolutionise my life in terms of the music I would listen to, as I understood over the last few years, the vastness of music out there for one, but also, the notion and understanding as I grew up as a Christian in the 1990s, that mainstream music was downright ‘evil’, was totally false. Throughout my teen years, that notion of mainstream music =  bad started to become undone, and it was this blog series that really stretched me in terms of what was deemed to be ‘mainstream’ and ‘Christian’, especially when over the last few years, there had been many collaborations in music between Christians and…well, everyone else. for KING & COUNTRY’s ‘Together’ was collaborated with Kirk Franklin & Tori Kelly, Tori herself also lent vocals to the smash-hit Cory Asbury penned ‘Reckless Love’, country singer-songwriter JoDee Messina also recorded her own version of the powerful (yet controversial) worship hit ‘Reckless Love’; while Lecrae collaborated with artists like John Legend (Drown) and Ty Dolla $ign (Blessings), whilst his song ‘Comin’ in Hot’, a collaboration between himself and fellow CHH artist Andy Mineo, has gained the most traction and popularity (out of all of Lecrae’s songs) amongst the mainstream music media space…ever.

In 2020, Chris Tomlin collaborated with a whole bunch of country artists (Lady A, Brett Young, Cassadee Pope, Thomas Rhett, Florida Georgia Line) for the country/CCM crossover album Chris Tomlin & Friends, while not too long ago, Tauren Wells and H.E.R. unveiled one of the unlikeliest of collaborations…ever. ‘Hold Us Together’ has been a powerful song since it’s unveiling as just a H.E.R. song as the end credits to the Disney + movie Safety, but the song took on new life when it was re-released around six months later with the injection of Tauren’s vocals, making the song, that already had a gospel feeling, become more worshipful…who am I kidding. The song was already worshipful. TobyMac and Sheryl Crow came together just this year to re-record Toby’s most recent single hit, ‘Promised Land’, and who knows, that could release on country/folk/Americana radio in the future…maybe. Christian and mainstream continued to collide over the years, with for KING AND COUNTRY & Echosmith collaborating on the duo’s chart-topping radio hit ‘God Only Knows’, while Joel & Luke also collaborated with one of Country music’s OG artists, Dolly Parton, for said same song. Dolly also lent her vocals to another CCM artist’s track, Zach Williams’s ‘There Was Jesus’, to much critical and commercial acclaim, while country music’s representation within CCM didn’t end there, with up and coming country artist Carly Pearce delivered a duet with Matthew West on the track ‘Truth Be Told’, a song that I reckon, sounds better as a duet. Up and coming country artist Lauren Alaina and up and coming CCM/pop artist Riley Clemmons created what I reckon is one of my favourite duets in recent memory, ‘Over and Over’, around a couple of years ago (a song that could’ve succeeded in country radio, but was never given a chance), and let’s all not forget that all those years ago, needtobreathe collaborated with pop icon (at the time) Gavin DeGraw (who’s still making music now, but not as popular as before) on the 2014 CCM-pop crossover hit, ‘Brother’? I say all this to say, that over the years, the lines between Christian and gospel music, and everything else, seems to be blurring together. And that is ok.

Continue reading Momentous Mondays: Influential artists of the next 5-10 years – Where Are They Now: Week 1-10

BEST OF 2020- PART 4: TOP 40 SONGS OF 2020 [JULY-DEC]

Hey everyone… guess what! It’s the end of 2020… already! It’s been such an eventful and crazy year in and of itself- with COVID-19, Black Lives Matter, Warner Brothers announcing 2021 films will be debuting in the cinemas and on HBO Max at the same time, India being rolled for 36 all out in Test cricket, and everything else in between! Amidst the hustle and bustle though… we’ve realised that it’s time for another Best Of 2020 post! So let’s dive back in through the past 6 months- as we now let you all know our favourite songs of 2020 from the back half of the year. All 40 of them! So sit back, be inspired, and let these songs minister to you during this time of uncertainty! Let us remember that even though this year is uncertain, that music is constant, and that these songs can comfort, inspire and encourage as we navigate through life.

Continue reading BEST OF 2020- PART 4: TOP 40 SONGS OF 2020 [JULY-DEC]

Momentous Mondays: Influential artists of the next 5-10 years – Week 5: Rachel Platten

I have never felt so free creatively. I wrote every single one of these songs without getting in the way and I let whatever needed to come through me just come. I didn’t judge my art or feel the need to please anyone but me and that freedom allowed my inner artist to run wild. I played with colors and sounds and rhythms and I didn’t adhere to any rules… I honestly just had so much fun making it.

I have never been more proud of anything I’ve created in my life. With Wildfire, I was trying to catch up to the massive success of “Fight Song.” I was on tour the entire time I was making it so it was a version of me that was, honestly, kind of exhausted, popping into the studio, listening to mixes in buses, airplane bathrooms, green rooms and doing my best to create while a little spun around. On Waves, I took an entire year off from touring and I just wrote songs and played.

I felt like I wanted to continue and do my part to give a message of hope through music and promote girl power. Even though we have a long way to go to get equality between men and women, we’re making progress, and when we lift each other up, that’s dope. ‘Broken Glass’ is kind of about that message…I think maybe a misconception people have about me from ‘Fight Song’ is that I’m always encouraging and always in a good mood and always positive — and that’s beautiful, I love that people think that, but it is not true. This album allowed me to go into some of the darker places in my mind, just because I needed the release and I needed that freedom to be honest with what I was feeling.

Continue reading Momentous Mondays: Influential artists of the next 5-10 years – Week 5: Rachel Platten

BEST OF 2018- PART 8: TOP 20 SONGS OF 2018 (OCTOBER – DECEMBER)

Is it December already? Seems like it. In about one and a half weeks, it’ll be Christmas time… so it’s time for a slew of ‘best of’ lists. But before we give our opinions on our favourite albums and EP’s of the year, as well as music videos for the second half of the year, it’s time for top 20 songs of the last quarter. So without further ado, here are 20 songs that are our most favourite of October-December 2018.

Continue reading BEST OF 2018- PART 8: TOP 20 SONGS OF 2018 (OCTOBER – DECEMBER)

BEST OF 2017- PART 12: TOP 30 ALBUMS OF 2017 (JULY – DECEMBER)

If you can remember back about 6 months or so, I had the pleasure of unveiling my favourite 25 albums of January – June of 2017. And while I myself still haven’t reviewed everything that I wanted to in the year of 2017, I have since come to the conclusion, that 2017 was and is one of my favourite years in terms of music. And thus here we are in January 2018, as I am unveiling my favourite 30 albums of the back half of 2017. I have incorporated quotes/descriptions of my favourite 15 albums of July-December and the remaining 15 without quotes (because frankly, it could take too long for a reader to check out, and thus, the post could seem daunting and overwhelming to read), totaling 30 albums in the back half of the year that have stood out for me personally. And so without further ado, here below are my favourite albums of 2017 (second half). I will also do a post showing my favourite albums of 2017, period (thereby incorporating my favourite albums of the first half and second half of 2017 in one post. What are your favourite albums of 2017. Read on to check out mine!

Continue reading BEST OF 2017- PART 12: TOP 30 ALBUMS OF 2017 (JULY – DECEMBER)

BEST OF 2017- PART 9: TOP 20 SONGS OF 2017 (OCTOBER – DECEMBER)

It’s that time of the year again. December time means that we’re due to post another best of 2017 list! Excited? This time, it’s time to reveal our favourite songs from October – December 2017. You can check out our previous ‘best of 2017 song lists’ here (Jan-March 2017), here (April-June 2017), and here (July-Sept 2017) and be sure to let us know your thoughts on your favourite songs!

Continue reading BEST OF 2017- PART 9: TOP 20 SONGS OF 2017 (OCTOBER – DECEMBER)